Ciorogarla thieves – investigated for murder, drugs and ammunition traffic

The thieves who stole arms from them military depot in Ciorogarla (close to Bucharest) hid the weapons for some time, dismantled them and erased the serial numbers so that they could not be identified. „The arms are functional (…) and we don’t exclude that the theft’s aim might have been selling”, the Police chief Petre Toba declared during a press conference.

Main statements made by Romanian Police chief Petre Toba:

• After the deed, the Romanian Police allocated important resources to solve the case.

• The traces found have been examined and comparisons with over 10,000 people have been made solely for DNA tests.

• Hundreds of lab analyses have been conducted.

• From a criminalistical perspective, the costs so far amount to 50,000 euros.

• The research sows that the thieves have taken measures for arms conservation immediately after theft and hid them for quite some time.

• Later, the weapons have been dismantled and they tried to make the arms unidentifiable.

• In some cases, they polished off all the serial numbers; in other cases, the serial numbers were left intact, so that they could be traced back to their stock.

• Investigations established that the arms were functional.

• The aim of the theft is till to be found out, but we do not exclude the possibility of the purpose of selling.

• The weapons have not be used so far.

• Even since yesterday, Interior minister Vasile Blaga gave thanks to the Romanian Police.

• Three policemen who worked on this case have been promoted to the next rank, and two policemen received thanks from the Interior Ministry.

Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) chief Codrut Olaru announced that part of the group who stole the weapons are being investigated for two murders. According to him, the main crimes of the group are high risk drugs and weapon traffic. Some members of the group have brought to Romania a significant heroin quantity. „Alongside Bulgarian and Turkish authorities, we got hold on 124 kg of heroine, worth of over 7 million euros”, Olaru explained. He announced that the group was preparing for a new heroine transport these days, with The Netherlands as the final destination. Six of the accused have also been part of the Ciorogarla theft.

The Romanian Police and DIICOT information come one day after the police discovered 30 of the 62 arms stolen in January 2009 from a Military Unit depot in Ciorogarla. Eleven out of the 45 persons investigated in this case have been retained and brought on Monday, December 28, before the magistrates, being proposed for preventive arrest. DIICOT released a retain ordinance for Eugen Preda and Alexandru Iordan.

Among thise brought to hearings are Eugen Preda, Sandu Chirita, Alin Viorel Caca and Dan Stinghe, who had their homes searched by investigators on Sunday morning. The Liviu and Alexandru Iorda brothers have also been retained. The theft occurred during the night of January 27 to 28. Sixty-two military weapons and ammunition accessories disappeared from UM 01895 depot from Bucharest, from the UM 01916 Ciorogarla.